The Event Boss
by fluffythehedgehog12
Summary: It would be a normal day for all the MMO players, but thanks to a new Admin of the SAO remake, all players have access to temporary features and a boss no one has seen before! It seems a little different from the previous bosses, but you must read this to find out how... Revolves around KiritoXAsuna family! Rated T, two OCs. Reviews are nice, and they keep my motivation going!
1. Prologue

(A/N: This story takes place after Alfheim Online's arc, and before the release of GGO to the open public. (Only a few beta-testers are in the game at the moment, none of which I plan to fully reveal in detail.)

All three games are separate but connected via the World Seed's data. Therefore, I will make the assumption that players from one game can travel to another, appearance and all. Only certain items will work, however, but you'll find out which...

Sword Art Online, Alfheim Online and Gun Gale Online do not belong to me. All rights are reserved to whom it is due.) Enjoy!)

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><p><strong>ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... A NEW EVENT WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY... PLEASE REMAIN IN THE GAME.\\**

Murmurs of chattering players slowly changed all their conversations to that announcement. Phrases like, "Who's speaking?", "What's going on?", and "What kind of event will it be?" arose from the crowd in the Town of Beginnings of both Alfheim and the Sword Art Online remake, now two separate games because some people worked to make a copy of the original SAO. A figure soon appeared, almost the same way as Akihiko Kayaba; only this one looked more like a projection than an actual figure. The face was not shown, but a somewhat busty girl with a lab coat and long blond hair now stood where the corrupted game maker once was.

After a few minutes of what seemed to be the projector getting ready, another voice spoke, this one more feminine and cheerful.

**/Good afternoon Players! I would like to inform you all about the new event that will be happening for a few days! A unique boss will be wandering the worlds of Sword Art, Alfheim, and Gun Gale Online! However, it will choose which it wants to battle with. If you are chosen, you only get the one chance, so I suggest you be ready at all times! More information about the boss will be in your guidebooks that I've already sent out, so good luck a****nd look out for it! **

**/THIS IS DAY 1 OF THE EVENT. ****This concludes the announcement~\\**

The projection of the girl quickly dissipated into colorful shards after the announcement. Once again, more chatter began among the gamers as they looked over their newly-updated guidebooks.

-[MAIN MENU OPENED.]-

-[ITEMS MENU OPEN.]-

-[GUIDEBOOK OPEN.]-

-[TURN TO PAGE: 1.]-

_"Hello there! You would like to know about the boss, yes? Let me tell you about it!_

_It'll go by the boss name Jewel and be able to be defeated three times, one in each game. There will be four HP bars, and nothing special will happen when you get to red on its last HP gauge. It will speak at times, but don't let its smooth words and actions lower your guard!_

_I'd like for you to note that if ANYONE asks you for a duel in ANY town or village, the boss will most likely be around, to see who is worthy of fighting or not. But you won't be able to tell. Why? Because I made sure it was able to transform into normal Players~ It can also change anything BUT its name, so don't be fooled! Even the diamond above its head can change color!_

_That's not all the benefits of the event! You, as the player, will be allowed FIVE deaths, from anything, without repercussions, throughout this time. And anyone involved with the defeat of the boss will get rewarded with an item SPECIFIC to this event only, so make sure you're all in groups for a better chance! Unfortunately, you can only get this item once, even if you are involved with all three defeats._

_Use all this wisely, it won't last forever! And don't try cheating, I'll make sure you get a virus~_

_(If something happens, contact Admin Rose. That'll be me. I'll be sure you get something in return, depending on the gravity of what happens.)"_

_«~»_

-[GUIDEBOOK CLOSED.]-

-[MAIN MENU QUICK-EXIT.]-

Kirito shut his guidebook and threw himself on his new bed. _'New boss, huh? Seems interesting.'_ He messaged his girlfriend and online spouse, Asuna, about whether to be involved or not.

-[CHAT THREADS OPENED.]-

-[SELECTED THREAD: ASUNA.]-

K: /So should we do it too?/

A: /I think so. It seems like a nice break from what we've settled into lately. I think the rare item would be nice to get too!/

K: /When you put it like that, I'll be ready to leave soon./

A: /I've been ready to go. Meet me in front of the house with Yui. She's in her room getting ready too./

K: /She's going?/

A: /Sure, why not?/

K: /...Okay, see you soon./

-[CHAT THREADS CLOSED.]-

Not wanting to prolong Asuna's wait, he sorted through all his belongings in preparation for his new quest, classifying them with remarks: "Needs an upgrade", "I could get rid of this", and "I could sell this when we get to the next town."

After a few minutes, Kirito casually walked over to Yui's new room. A light blue-walled space with a small wooden desk near the window and a pale-pink bed with matching throw cushions against the right side of the room. He found his "daughter" in the center of her room, scanning through what she should bring in her tiny purse; the teen father peered over the girl's shoulder to find that she had Health-type items, a small sword, and a small makeup set complete with a mirror.

"Why do you need makeup, of all things to carry?"

His only response was a headbutt due to surprise and shock; apparently Yui was startled by her "father's" head on her shoulder and whipped her forehead right into his. Both fell onto the floor ungracefully, with audible groans of pain emanating from both; the only voice that spoke afterwards was Asuna's yell from the living room, telling them to hurry up so they could leave.

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><p>(AN: Sorry for the REALLY AWKWARD prologue ending... ^^; It wasn't my intention, but I had no idea what to write after... And I realized how long it was for a PROLOGUE.

Anyway, reviews are nice! I'd like some! :3)


	2. Chapter 1

"You two should be more careful..." Asuna remarks after hearing their excuse- er, reason- for why her husband and child were taking so long. Said boy rubbed the back of his head sheepishly when he heard,

"Seriously, I don't need any health bars going down before we even start FIGHTING, Kirito..."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I guess we're all anxious to see what the Event Boss is like."

"You're right, I'm pretty curious too. But remember we could be ambushed by the Boss with every step we take, even in our own house!"

"...But we wouldn't know. It can transform into anything, remember? Hey! Maybe we could get some battle strategies, Yui! Can you get any of the Boss's fighting style?"

At the moment, Yui was daydreaming. The whole time, she was simply staring in bliss at a pair of shimmering sapphires of a butterfly's wings that landed on her nose. The girl was in no way a part of the conversation her "parents" were having, and honestly didn't care; only a child could have that sort of carefreeness that involved nothing but a mix of colors on delicate wings. She could have easily stayed that way forever, but...

After a few calls of her name, the AI swiftly directed her head at the source, accidentally startling the butterfly; the girl frowned in sadness at herself for making the butterfly "run away."

"But the butterfly is gone now..."

Asuna felt her sadness, and stooped down to pick her up. "We're sorry honey, but I'm sure we can find the butterfly one day," she comforted, softly combing through Yui's dark locks with her fingers. The AI sniffed and looked at her "mother" with glassy eyes as she was set down to be supported by her own feet.

"Okay."

-[MAIN MENU OPEN.]-

-[ITEMS MENU OPEN.]-

"If you're not in the mood to look for battle strategies, that's fine Yui," Kirito said, busily cleaning up his Item storage.

"Oh, it's okay Daddy! I'll look now! Let's see... 'Jewel Battle Style'... Um..."

Asuna stooped down to Yui's level of sight to see how her daughter's progress was going. Only to see Yui's face twist in confusion.

"Hm? Is it hard to find?"

"It shouldn't be, Mommy! Usually NPC information is easy to find! But for some reason I can't find any Event Boss under the name Jewel!"

Kirito looks over and rubs the back of his head. "I know it seems far-fetched, but maybe it's not an NPC? Maybe it's another Player?"

A silence arose as the new theory sank into everyone's minds; Asuna soon broke the uncomfortable stillness, sitting down in a nearby wooden porch chair and sighing.

"...It could be..."

"If that's the case, I doubt it would be here. All Players have a unique battle style, so I can't monitor it," Yui explains thoughtfully.

"-Isn't that a bummer! I was looking for some help!"

All three members of the family turned their heads to try and locate the source of the new voice. They caught sight of a teenage girl- from the looks of it, anyway- with long hair and streaks of blood red highlighting parts of her almost-black hair. A pair of diamond-shaped gold earrings clung to her lengthened ears- 'she probably transferred games from Alfheim to Sword Art', Asuna claims- along with pairs of gold bracelets around her gloved wrists. From what they could see, she didn't look that much older than Kirito. The same voice from earlier is heard again from the red-eyed figure walking towards them... unthreateningly? Yui, a little startled by the newcomer's presence, scurried to hide behind her "mother."

"Hey, chill out guys! I'm not the Boss," she claims, defensively putting her hands up in the air. "Just passing through to Gun Gale. I was called from Alfheim to be a Beta-Tester there."

The quiet sighs of relief from the family was subtle, but still there.

"I hope you don't mind..." The AI child tried to hide further when the stranger bent down and held out her hand. The newcomer snickered, then looked up to Asuna. "So, I take it you're out hunting for the Boss?"

After a quick recovery, Asuna was the first to speak. "Um, yes, actually! Are you interested too?"

"Kinda. Seems like fun! Plus, the item is Event-Exclusive, so I'll try and get it," came the reply.

Kirito was slowly becoming accustomed to the stranger's presence. But he was still hesitant. _'It shouldn't be suspicious seeing a Player from Alfheim in Sword Art, I've seen many after the games were linked. So why do I feel like she's... I don't know. I'll catch her name though.'_

"Hey... Can we get your name for future reference?"

"U-uh... Yeah... Sure... Don't think it the wrong way, though! I'm not the Boss!"

-[PLAYER MENU OPEN.]-

-[PLAYER PROFILE OPEN.]-

-[PLAYER NAME: JEWEL.]-

"...Oh."

"...Yeah, that'll create issues," Kirito claims. "People aren't as laid back as we are, so they'll take you the wrong way.

"You'd be getting Duels day and night if you shows off your name like that. Especially since everyone knows that the Event Boss's name is Jewel..." The stranger named "Jewel" tried to stifle a shudder, but it didn't go unnoticed by Yui.

'_Does the Player have something to hide from Mommy and Daddy?' _Little did the AI know that she spoke those words out loud. Of course, that only shocked her more when she got a reply to her "thought."

"Oh, I shuddered because it's happened already... Three times..."

"...Anyway! Why don't you join our- Kirito, me, and Yui- Party? We could use someone from Alfheim to help us out," Asuna exclaims, eager to redirect the conversation at hand. "I'm sure your wings will be helpful in Sword Art Online!"

"Really? Me? I've never been in a Party, but that sounds interesting!"

-[MAIN MENU OPENED.]-

-[PARTY MENU OPENED.]-

-[INVITE MEMBERS?]-

-[PARTY INVITATION SENT TO: JEWEL.]-

...

-[INVITATION ACCEPTED.]-

-[JEWEL JOINED THE PARTY.]-

-[PARTY MENU EXIT.]-

-[MAIN MENU EXIT.]-

"Awesome! Welcome to the Party Jewel!"

"Heh, thanks guys."

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><p>((AN: That moment when you resort to block terms and gaming text to fill up space to make the chapter about the same length as the prologue...

Anyway, thanks for reading, (and reviewing) and have a great day! The next one will begin the exploration of the Event Boss for the little party!))


	3. Chapter 2

(A/N: I forgot to mention I made a cover art for this story! Kirito is not my character; however Jewel is. I don't like putting notes up here, but I wanted to let you all know. ;))

* * *

><p>-[MAIN MENU CLOSED.]-<p>

"... Is that all? I thought it'd be more complicated," Jewel said with a somewhat surprised look. "That was quick." Of course, that behavior brought up questions.

"Have you been solo the whole time?" Asuna asks. "That seems kind of dangerous, don't you think?" She swivels her head to Kirito mid-sentence; both knew about the raven-haired boy's rash tendencies as an amateur Beta-tester, and Kirito stifles a nervous laughter disguised by a series of short coughs.

"Yeah. But I'm pretty new to all this, so I don't know much about it yet. I caved to buy it when the event was announced though," Jewel explained. "I'm glad I got to join your Party for a while."

This time it was Kirito's turn to speak. "Thanks, it isn't much though, but it gets the job done. Stay with us for as long as you like."

"Heh, thanks." The newcomer's face shone with a tint of pink.

At the moment, they were walking through the forest from their house to start their search in the Town of Beginnings. It seemed to be a good place to start. Kirito led the group, followed by the girls; Asuna, with some struggle, carried an asleep Yui in her arms. _'Since she is an AI, I didn't expect her to get any bigger than when we first met her. But she seems to be getting heavier by the month,'_ the "mother" inquired silently. _'It's like she is a real human, and not just some sort of computer-generated character.'_

Other than the adults' conversations, the chopping down of thick underbrush from Kirito, and the soft breathing of the AI, they were surrounded by NPC nature sounds, which were programmed to sound like reality's birds, rodents, and other animals. It was a peaceful time, as it always felt we ever the spouses took a walk alone together when Yui was asleep.

~~TIMESKIP TO ARRIVING IN THE TOWN OF BEGINNINGS~~

"Ah, we made it!" The newcomer exclaimed. "I thought we'd never get here alive!"

The rest of the Party just snickered at Jewel's enthusiasm. "Hey, the forest isn't that risky," Kirito claims. "It's really easy to get through there-"

"Yeah, but we got lost three times and I'm new!" the girl shot back.

Asuna forcefully put her hands -which are not carrying Yui anymore because the AI is now awake- on her husband's shoulders as an attempt to scare him, then whispered, "This one is good with comebacks, isn't she?" with a giggle afterwards as she was shoved away by the now-flustered, raven-haired boy. The rest of the girls laughed along with Asuna as Kirito regained his composure.

"Ahem... Haha, very funny..."

"Of course it is, you silly," Jewel said. She ran off a ways, then shouted, "Hey! Let's ask around to see if we can't get any leads!"

Asuna was the first to agree, and she ran after Jewel. "Okay! I'll be right behind you!"

"Me and Yui will go this way! Let's all meet at the Portal Gate in three hours, okay?!" Kirito shouts after the the two female Players.

"Okay! See you soon!"

Kirito turned and looked down to Yui to explain what she could do, only to find that she has already started talking to a trio of other unfamiliar Players. The suddenly-protective "father" briskly walked over to her side in case they seemed like trouble.

Luckily, the three Players were female, and from the looks of it, none had weapons on them at the moment. Two, judging from the clothing, hairstyle, and ear shape, transferred from Alfheim Online, and they looked like they were sisters. The other one, brunette hair, looked... Not from either SAO or Alfheim... She wore a heavy-looking black uniform and rubber boots, along with a matching hat to complete the outfit. '_Maybe she was from that new game... What was it called... Gun Gale Online or something?'_ Kirito inquired. He picked up the conversation while he was in thought, rolling his eyes at the stereotypical gossip conversation his "daughter" was in.

"Have you encountered the Event Boss yet?" The AI asked curiously.

"Nope, we haven't yet. But I've, like, heard stories!" One of the sisters replied. "I'll tell you if you want!"

"Yes please miss!"

"Okay, um... Let's see... There was this guy who was just wandering around, okay? And... He was jumped by one of the NPC monsters, you got that? But it turns out that the monster was actually the BOSS! I mean, a name wouldn't just APPEAR on a boar like that, and it even had four Health Bars, just like the Event Boss would have! The guy had to stall until a group of other guys came, y'know, because he was walking alone on the field."

Her sister nodded occasionally while adding her own commentary: "Yeah!" "Uh huh!" "Totally!" Yui made her own quiet exclamations throughout the story, much to Kirito's dismay. _'These kinds of conversations can go for hours if we were at a coffee shop...'_

"...but the weirdest thing about the Boss that everyone in the battle learned was that it was just outside of the Town of Beginnings! Only a few hours ago!"

That part stuck out to the raven-haired teen.

He decided this conversation was important enough to gather information from, so he spoke. "What about the other attacks? Were they around the same time?"

The storytelling blonde looked at Kirito before speaking, as if she was being pressed for information. Kirito bowed a bit in apology.

"Um, yeah. All right after the other, and all only in the first night. There were only three, though. Um... All the stories started the same way: the Player -or Party- decided to get up really early to try and catch the Boss off guard, or, uh, to have a better chance at catching it. They found the Boss, and um... Then the stories got different."

"How different, miss?" Yui spoke, as if something scary was going to be told.

"Well, um... Everyone involved noticed a battle strategy, but it was different for all three stories."

Of course, this shocked everyone in the conversation. The Gun Gale Online Player did not react, as if she had heard this story repeatedly already, which she probably has if she were acquaintances or Party members with the two sisters.

"Wait... How is that possible Daddy?" Yui asked her "father."

"Well-"

"Hold up, did she say, "Daddy?" The blonde who didn't tell the story asked with a confused face.

"...Yeah, she did. It's a little complicated, so I won't go into detail. But anyway, it's possible since the Guidebook page for Jewel said she could change anything except her name."

"Um... Oh, right! I forgot about that."

"Anyway, misses? Do you know if any of those attacks had the Boss defeated?" Yui questioned, as if to break the awkward tension between her "father" and the girls.

"From what I've heard buzzing around, nope! No one was able to get three of her Health Bars down either."

"...That's all we need to know. We have to get moving, but it was nice to talk to you," Kirito said, feeling satisfied with the new information he received. He looked down at Yui who was also itching to find more insight on the Event Boss, and everyone waved their goodbyes and safe journeys.

Jewel and Asuna figured the best way to gather informations about the boss was through casual conversation. And where else to find such a thing? A café. Both grabbed some light coffee -Jewel remembered reading that holding a hot drink in your hand will allow you to get into less-awkward conversations- and wandered about, searching for a talk that would seem interesting to jump into. They found a red-head teenage boy sitting a short ways from them who looked inviting, and pitched a conversation.

"Okay, so do any of you guys have any information about the Event Boss?"

"Uh, no. But you should ask those guys over there, they say they saw the thing!" He point in the direction of a small crowd about a few yards away, and waved them off after they expressed their thanks.

On the way, they managed to pick up bits of the conversation: "...Yeah, the Boss was CRAZY!..." "I'm glad I had five extra lives, I needed three of them!..." "...We both managed to get out alive!" One had long, dark-brown hair tied in a loose ponytail and was the taller of the two, while the other had choppy platinum hair.

Asuna brewed up the volume and courage to ask the two boys. "Uh, hello?" Luckily it was loud enough to be heard by undeaf ears as both turned their heads to her and Jewel's direction.

"Yeah? Who was that?" The silver-haired boy spoke.

"We just got here, and we wanted to know what happened!" It was difficult to speak under the ruckus, but a conversation managed to weasel its way through the chaos.

"We were walking and we found a weird looking bird! It attacked us and you could've imagined our faces as we found out it was the Event Boss!"

"Well, that's not really the surprise! The surprise was that it SPOKE!"

Ever since the world learned about the NerveGear and Sword Art Online, it became common knowledge that Bosses didn't have the ability to speak, only barely being able to make incoherent words from English and Japanese lettering at the most. But even then, those words weren't spoken through their voice boxes at all.

Jewel's shock surprisingly didn't seem real; it was like an act, and those who only looked wouldn't know the difference. Asuna wasn't one to be oblivious. When the light-brown haired Player found out this, she became a little more cautious about the new Party member, the doubt and the feeling of being insecure floated from the depths of her mind to the surface. She almost lost track of her thoughts, only to be brought back into the SAO game with an elbow nudge to her right arm. Jewel whispered under her breath, just loud enough to allow Asuna to hear.

"Pay attention! We need this stuff!"

"It said, "You aren't worthy of my time boys," and then it just vanished and we were sent back here! We didn't teleport of our own free will, either!"

That seemed like enough information for now; it was really crowded and it was possibly one of the only main points needed from a place like this. The girls decided to take their leave.

"Okay, thanks!"

"No prob! Happy fighting!"

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><p>(AN: Another awkward ending to the chapter... But it got too long again. Whoops. Anyway, hope you like it, I'll post another one up HOPEFULLY by next week.)


	4. Chapter 3

(A/N: Sorry for this! A warning! There will be mild language in this chapter, just a bit. Even though you've probably heard more words than I have. Also, sorry for not updating the week I said I would! I got lazy af and didn't want to finish the chapter. But anyway, enjoy this... thing!)

* * *

><p>By the time their meet-up was due, the separate groups discovered some interesting stories, as well as new information to use against the Event Boss. They met up at Central Plaza, and all four met up around the fountain in the center.<p>

The first to speak up was Kirito. "Did you two get anything?"

"Yup! There's apparently a few stories going around about people who have already encountered the Boss!"

Jewel flinched. _'Why?'_ Asuna wondered, coincidentally looking over to her newest comrade. The brown-haired female had been detecting peculiar behavior from her fellow Party member. Even though they've only been together for not even a day, these behaviors were not normal for even the most normal human alive. _'Flinching, nervous to whenever something is mentioned about the Event Boss, a lack of stamina, not eating... What symptoms were these? Maybe she's just tired a lot...'_

Jewel, on the hand, was sweating unnaturally. Of course, it was only internally, where she screamed to her heart's content.

But her thoughts were cut short by a male voice calling her name while she was in her mindful-yet-nervous daze.

"Uh... Jewel? You okay?"

Snapping back to the pseudo-reality, she found the Kirito family staring at her like she had three heads. _'Shit. Just play it cool, Jewel. Just play it cool...'_

"What? Can't a girl think for once in her life? You know I have one, right?"

Silence. Of course, it's not the awkward kind, it's more like the kind you feel when you make a good comeback that no one can counter.

"Y...yeah, I know you have a life. But I was just wondering why you were so tense just now." The raven-haired boy rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly.

"..."

NOW is the awkward kind of silence. Jewel contemplated up during this time and carefully chose her next words. "I'm fine. I just didn't get a good night's sleep yesterday and I just now remembered the nightmare I had then..."

Yui finally spoke up for the first time since Jewel appeared on the scene, still a little hesitant about talking around the suspicious girl in blood-red and black. "I-if it makes you feel better, would you like to talk about it Miss Jewel?"

"...I guess. Basically it's just me running from this band of monsters with knives and things. It really sucks me having these, and it's always the same: I wake up before my throat was slit."

If silences could get any less disturbing, this one currently did. Everyone in the Party looked at each other nervously, as if transmitting their thoughts were possible through their eyes. Wandering Players were curious as to why the four people were gathered in the middle of the Central Plaza and not making a sound. It unnerved strangers nearby so that most of them couldn't take the suspicion and walked away, not wanting to get involved. Others stuck around just to see who cracked first, then let out a chuckle as they left: they witnessed the AI break the tension.

"...I'm sorry... I do not have the words to reply..."

"I don't need sympathy. I've been trying to hide all the symptoms of my insomnia but apparently they couldn't go unnoticed by Asuna here," she gestures to said Player, who laughed nervously. Kirito could only shake his head; it was pretty normal to have his spouse poke her nose into other people's business.

Attempting to keep the conversation going, Kirito steered the small talk towards the stories they collected during their few hours of investigation regarding the Event Boss's appearances.

"So apparently, the Event Boss prefers to be most active near the evening-"

Asuna took the hint, and cut her online spouse off. "-Probably so that less Players are found and they are weary from travel. Is it to catch the Players off-guard?"

Jewel looked nervous, but she looked glad to be off the topic of "her personal life." She seemed alright, so she joined the conversation. "That might be the case. Because everyone is ready to leave the game during their evening, there is probably less people to look for it. Maybe it has a lair somewhere where it sleeps?"

This was common information for an RPG gamer of any kind. If there is a Boss or special appearance of an antagonistic character, there must be a place for the character to rest/reside. The protagonist character -the gamer's appearance in an RPG- often finds the Boss where its lair is, but the Boss is only triggered by the protagonist. This is what's known as a Static Antagonist.

But because this is an Event Boss, one would think it was different; however, the Guidebook never stated that the Boss was a Roaming Antagonist -one that doesn't have a specific location it's bound to-, so it's a possibility that there was a secret hideout where the Boss is during the day. So it could have been...

After a long and thoughtful silence, Yui chirps up. "Um, I think that might be possible. I checked the Aerial map of SwordArtOnlineRPG in my database and I found a new location that I haven't seen before." She pulled up said map onto a holographic viewing for the Party to see while she spoke.

"It's way off into the corner of the map, but it's still visible. I think we should check it out, even if it isn't part of the Event."

"That's a good idea. You never know what that could hold in store!" Asuna nodded in agreement, who looked to her left where Jewel stood.

Suddenly, the new Party member stiffened. "U-uh, I forgot something I needed to do IRL. I'll see you guys tomorrow?" She looked at Kirito -who was now sitting at the base of the stone fountain- then Asuna, as if asking for permission to leave.

"..."

"..."

The raven-haired boy sighed and rubbed at his hair, obviously a bit peeved with her unannounced reschedule. "Yeah, I guess. But meet us up back right here, okay?"

Jewel nodded furiously, then ran off like her life depended on it; only after she turned a dark corner did Asuna take her eyes off her. She turned her head to Kirito, who also was looking at the red-streaked brunette hair of Jewel.

«~»

"That leave was pretty sudden, wasn't it?" He spoke slowly.

"...Yes. I don't think it's because of us, though. She's probably just getting over the shock of her nightmares... I don't think she should be playing an RPG is she isn't feeling well," Asuna replied with a somewhat concerned tone.

"Since when did you become a psychologist?"

That remark earned Kirito a light punch to his left forearm, along with a forceful push to his torso which inevitably had him soaking in the fountain nearby. The girls of the "family" giggled at their success of "Operation: Throw off Kirito." The only interruption of this family moment was an announcement of one of the Admins for SAO:

**_/ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... INFORMATION REGARDING THE EVENT BOSS HAVE BEEN UPDATED. PLEASE REMAIN IN THE GAME.\\_**

**_/THE EVENT BOSS IS MOST ACTIVE DURING THE EVENING, IT HAS BEEN SIGHTED IN THE TOWN OF BEGINNINGS ON FLOOR 1. IT IS NOW DAY 2 OF THE EVENT. THIS CONCLUDES THE ANNOUNCEMENT.\\_**

«~»

Jewel managed to book a room in a hotel for the night. But she didn't plan on logging out. After thanking the manager, she took her Hotel Card and went upstairs where her room was. The brunette placed the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door handle before clicked the lock shut; she didn't want people to think that someone booked a room and left. She didn't plan on leaving the room yet, but her duty needs her now.

It was always that time that was the most tiring, but adding the fact that she had to travel by day wasn't very helpful to her health. _'I'm lucky they managed to buy that whole "nightmare" thing, but it isn't a dream as much as it is a reality... But I DID warp it a bit. ...Whatever, it doesn't matter now.'_

The red-streaked brunette walked a short ways from the door -past the blue-colored, Queen-sized bed, past the wooden desk against the cream-colored wall to her right- right to the glass window, and opened it up.

Stepping over the windowsill, she dangled her feet while she sat in the window, feeling the digital wind against her face and used her pointed ears to listen to the still lively chatter of the Players around the town. _'It's pretty cool that it feels like real wind, but it isn't as much fun scaring people here. They all expect a wild thing to jump out at them in the tall grass or the woods,'_ Jewel mused.

The female Player turned her gaze downward, and she looked to be about twenty feet up. There was a patch of grass directly below her. It could catch her fall if she stepped down, but she didn't expect to be on the ground in the first place.

Standing up and carefully readjusting her position using the window's wooden frame, she opened her wings. These weren't ordinary Spriggan wings; no, hers are that of a dragon. Black and solid as the night sky and unable to be seen through, it was obvious the only factors that made her an Alfheim Player were her ear shape and faint hints at her clothing style.

The female Player flapped her wings a few times, then dropped from the window.

* * *

><p>(AN: ...No, it's not suicide. She can fly. It may have been written like that, but she is not. Anyway, overdue chapter is overdue, please read and review -hey, that rhymed! I'm so cool-, blah blah blah. Just be happy I give you long chapters, okay? Good.)


	5. Chapter 4

(A/N: Less than five bad words. Should this even be worth mentioning? I guess.)

* * *

><p><em><strong>ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... IT IS NOW DAY 3 OF THE EVENT. THANK YOU.\\**_

The next morning, the Party meets up in the Central Plaza once again. But Jewel is nowhere to be seen. After looking about a bit, Kirito asks,

"Hm... She seems late, doesn't she?"

"A bit. You told her to come in the morning, right?"

"I think so. Should I message her?"

"That's using your head."

-[MAIN MENU OPENED.]-

-[CHAT THREADS OPEN.]-

-[SELECTED THREAD: JEWEL.]-

K: /Hey, you there?/

...

J: /Yeah, I'm coming. I'm in my hotel room and I'm giving back the key./

K: /Okay. We're in the Central Plaza, so come when you're ready./

-[CHAT THREADS CLOSED.]-

-[MAIN MENU QUICK-EXIT.]-

Asuna found herself craving food, and she quickly took interest in a wafting coffee aroma from a small café nearby. Yui obviously seemed to notice as her "mother" saw her sniff up the digital scent as well; even though she is an AI, a computer program, this RPG world -among others- was advanced in the way of science and technology, so even the smaller details seemed realistic enough to be able to imagine all the senses as if it were reality itself. The girls looked over to Kirito, and the Raven-haired boy gave a dismissive wave.

"I don't need anything to eat, I'll stay here."

"I'll get you some coffee just in case," Asuna declares obstinately as she put her hands on her hips; she was bent on giving her husband at least something out of courtesy. _'He hasn't eaten anything since yesterday noon, so I'll probably get some bread too.'_ With that final thought in mind, the girls of the Party walked off to find something to quench their hunger.

«~»

_'Ugh, I hope I look okay... Damn technology: able to get me lookin' like I didn't get any sleep at all. Which I didn't.'_ These are the thoughts of an angry Jewel that hasn't gotten sleep for the past three days, and the information is finally showing its results as she runs toward the meeting place of the rest of her Party. _'Traveling through other games to find Players really sucks ass. If they see me like this they'll know what's up for sure! Admin Rose told me if I get- CRAP!'_

"Jewel, over here!" Kirito was seen by blood-red eyes -both naturally and by exhaustion- waving his left hand; his right hand holding a piece of bread that Asuna adamantly force-handed to him. Jewel took a piece of the loaf of fresh bread as she slumped down in a nearby metal chair.

"Did you not get sleep again, Jewel?" Yui asked, used to the new Party member's presence and is now able to question her freely with concern.

"Mhm... I'm okay, though. Don't worry 'bout it."

"Remember, we need you in good condition if you are going to be battling the Event Boss with us," the brown-haired fighter explains. "We don't want you getting hurt too bad if you're planning to fight. Luckily we have five Lives we can use for this, so it shouldn't be much a problem."

Kirito nods in agreement, popping a few pieces of bread in his mouth and holdng one more in his hand. "Are we all ready to go yet? Let's check out that place Yui found on the Aerial Map yesterday."

«~»

-[LOCATION: ? FOREST.]-

-[NAVIGATION MENU CLOSED.]-

-[MAIN MENU QUICK-EXIT.]-

"So apparently our Player maps don't know this place either..." Asuna claims, closing her Main Menu as well.

At the moment, Kirito, Asuna, Jewel and Yui are treading throughout the thick, untamed underbrush of a dark forest; the crunching of leaves underfoot along with the constant chatter of NPC beasts around them made the forest seem more like a dry rainforest, however.

Hacking through the branches, they surprisingly found coins, trinkets, and other items that could be used. This feature seemed unrealistic in the production of the Sword Art Online remake and Alfheim Online, so the administrators and animators decided to omit the factor out; this realization didn't go unnoticed by the new Admin Rose, -who was the possible reason for this new feature-, who added it into this Event-exclusive area.

"It makes sense, though. It's probably only here for the Event," Jewel said with a yawn. Kirito's spouse looked to her.

"You know, if you're really not up to fighting, you don't have t-"

"-I'm FINE, dammit! I've lasted longer without sleep before," Jewel shot back. She stopped, then attempted to sigh her stress away. "Look, I'm fine. I know you only want to help, but there's nothing wrong. After I finish my IRL work, I'll be able to sleep however long I want."

Asuna nodded in acknowledgement, then turned and began conversing with her online husband. _'Of course, they'll hopefully not find out what my job is yet,'_ the raven-haired female mused.

"Hey! I think I see something everyone!" A small voice was heard from Yui. She was seen by the rest of the Party pointing her finger at a dark cave entrance, then began pacing about excitedly when the rest of the Party quickened their pace.

«~»

-[LOCATION: ? CAVE]-

-[NAVIGATION MENU CLOSED.]-

-[MAIN MENU QUICK-EXIT.]-

It was dark; the only light that managed to filter down from the depths of the cave were thin cracks of sunlight and the slowly-leaving of the cave's mouth. Water dripped from the walls as if the cave was underground; said water seemed to be what was making the ground sink a bit underneath the Party's feet, which sped up their pace as they were under the illusion that they would go under like quicksand.

"It seemed like the day moves faster in this corner of the Map, doesn't it?" Asuna asked, not expecting a reply. Everyone knew this, even her; sometimes questions are asked when you know the answer, and this case was no different.

The occasional loud step had small NPC beasts -Red-Eyed Mice, Poisonous Bats, and the like- scurrying for shelter in the rocks and damp soil from the unfamiliar trespassing Players' footfalls, startling the group into reaching for their weapons or prepare to run. The levels of these cave-dwellers were decent; a good hour's grinding on them would level them up quickly, but that is not the Party's concern. They were here for the Event Boss.

"I don't think we can check our Navigation menu from the forest onward. It looks like there aren't names here, and I doubt there would be a map here either," Jewel claimed, quickly racing in front of the Party. Everyone behind her thought she went ahead to look for traps, but she just kept running. It didn't look like she would stop, either, and she didn't look back as they called after her.

"Jewel! Where are you going?!" questioned Kirito. In all honesty, no one knew what the girl was planning by getting away from the Party. With no verbal communication, the rest of the group reflexively began running after Jewel: Kirito was in hot pursuit, with his "daughter" and spouse tailing him respectively.

Jewel raced down the meandering cave tunnels; she didn't know where she was going, she just knew that she needed to gain distance from them for now.

_'I need to get away... Heh, no one would've guessed that me of all people had a schedule to keep, y'know? But Admin Rose told me I gotta keep that secret for just a bit longer... I don't know how long this'll go, but she'll probably let me know about it,' _the raven-haired female thought.

«~»

Energy seemed to go down faster in this cave than the rest of Sword Art Online, and this may have been a result of someone tampering with the digital code of the RPGMMO. Even though their Health Bars didn't go down fast, the group felt they were under a spell that made them FEEL as if they were losing energy; while Kirito and the rest of the Party were about to collapse from "exhaustion," their Alfheim acquaintance seemed to pay no heed to the difference by the way she kept her pace.

While they were chasing after her, Asuna checked her Menu: _'She left the Party? What for?_' She called out to her online husband the intriguing news.

"Kirito, she's not in our Party list anymore!"

"What?!"

The raven-haired female took this moment of distraction to discourage her followers: she knew a snap of her fingers and a little teleportation was all she needed. Rounding a bend, Jewel looked about to see if anyone would have been spying on her; when she felt remotely comfortable, the Alfheim Player transported away.

Kirito, Asuna an Yui barely managed to catch up with their runaway Party member, only to find her encased in a glow they haven't seen before, then vanish into thin air.

-[MAIN MENU OPENED.]-

-[NAVIGATION MENU OPENED.]-

-[PLAYERS IN AREA: 3.]-

"So she did disappear after all..." Asuna finalizes, collapsing and closing her Menu. However, she gets a pop-up notification that stopped her; opening it up, she finds that Jewel sent a message.

J: /Sorry about that whole freakout. I'll make it up to you later by saying we'll see each other again soon. I plan on dueling with y'all anyway./

* * *

><p>(AN: WAAAAAIT... Jewel has connections with one of the admins of the game? What the hell was up with that message and what does she mean by it?

Right now, this could go two ways: since I'm reaching the climax, I could cut it short by like ten chapters, or I could probably stretch it out about that much more. What do you guys want? Because I haven't lost too much interest in it yet and therefore lots of ideas, but I have other things I wanna write... I could probably do a sequel to this! ...I'm getting ahead of myself. It took me a bit of time to write this, and I don't have a schedule for it. So I'm happy to know that you still like this even then.

I know this one feels a little short, but anyway, write me a review of your opinion (long or short story, how good it is, etc.) and I'll be sure to check it! Bye~~~!)


	6. Chapter 5

(A/N: Jewel, stop cussing! I don't like putting notes saying how many times you cussed! (Less than five, as usual.) /goes to whack the girl on the head/

I'm thinking I'll make this story short then add a sequel. Either way, I'm going to add a new OC?-fursona-thingy, so sit tight for that. But I really need to know what you guys think, otherwise this'll end up being pretty short.

I'd like you to let me know what you want in a review because I am not a mind-reader. You can also PM me if you don't want people to see your opinion. Because the way I'm going is the shortcut, and I know some people don't like that. So... Yeah. That's it. On with the story!)

* * *

><p>~~~TIME SKIP TO TWO DAYS LATER~~~<p>

-[CHAT THREADS MENU OPENED.]-

-[SELECTED THREAD: ADMIN ROSE.]-

J: /'I plan on dueling with y'all anyway'?! Why did you want me to type that? They'll find out for sure that Thing is me now!/

R: /Hush, now. Don't be so rude. I'm the one who allowed you to go to those worlds without NerveGear./

J: /...But still! I'd be able to go there anyway-/

R: /-"Able" is not the correct terminology here. "Allow" is./

J: /.../

R: /...Anyhow, you put up an interesting storyline. Better than any Event I've seen in a while, good show, Jewel./

J: /Well, flattery won't getcha anywhere. Now, you could point me to the government's reserve of diamonds and-/

R: /-No. You still need to finish the Event before you can receive your playthings./

J: /Aw man. You play a hard bargain, Doc./

R: /I-It's Admin Rose! Don't call me that!/

J: /Fine, fine. See ya soon./

-[PLAYER JEWEL HAS LEFT THE CHAT.]-

..."That girl better know what she's doing. I can't be responsible for everything that happens to her anymore."

«~»

**_/ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... INFORMATION REGARDING THE EVENT BOSS HAS BEEN UPDATED. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE THE GAME.\\_**

**_/THERE ARE TWO NEW LOCATIONS LOCATED ON THE FAR EDGE OF THE AERIAL MAP. IN ADDITION, THE EVENT BOSS ITSELF HAS THE ABILITY TO TRANSPORT ITSELF TO NEARBY LOCATIONS. IT IS NOW DAY 6 OF THE EVENT. THANK YOU.\\_**

"It was a good idea to book a room for the night, Kirito!"

"I think so too, Daddy!"

The rest of the Party had bought a room to stay in for the evening, as their home was too distant from them; somehow, the only Safe-Zone the weary Party was closest to was the Frievan village on the 8th Floor. They managed to get a room on the second floor of a Player's Hotel, close enough to the hotel's field area where they could see it from their single glass window.

The cream-haired girl clicked their hotel door open with a Lock Card and found the room to be quite cozy. It was small, but there was enough space for them to sleep comfortably that night. The large king-sized bed in the middle of the left wall could fit all three of the remaining Party members; adding to the cozy interior was a small glass table surrounded by wooden chairs on the right, and a cabinet filled with buyable goods next to a tiny closet to the right of the doorframe.

Asuna flopped ungracefully on the covers of the hotel bed, thoroughly ruining the clean straight blankets. Kirito entered the room soon after, loudly dumping his unusable items to the carpeted floor with sounds of metal and other heavy objects; muffled shouts of anger arose from the surrounding rooms, all of which landed on deaf ears. He immediately began searching for any items that could be used once again, ignoring Yui's seemingly-desperate attempts at getting him to notice the AI.

"Daddy, daddy!"

"Just a minute, Yui. Tell me what you need," the raven-haired boy spoke, uninterest dripping from his words.

"Someone- er, something, that looks like Jewel is outside!" The girl directed the attention of her "father" to the subject of interest.

«~»

Yui suddenly found herself being half-dragged, half-carried to where she pointed. When the two got to the scene, it was true: a beast of some sort had somewhat similar features as their lost Party member. The same blood-red eyes shone from half of a fur-covered face; streaks of that same hue were scattered about its head hair and body. It took the form of a chimera of some sort, having the wings and torso of a dragon and fur, face and limbs of a dark-furred wolf with four tails.

It seemed to stand around 50cm at the shoulder, but it was hard to tell at the moment; the beast looked like it saw its biggest rival as it stared at the duo, crouching in a posture as it looked about to pounce.

Kirito heard his "daughter" breathe a quiet sigh of relief when she realized there was a glass window and an elevated floor separating her from the monster. However, the raven-haired boy didn't let down his guard. _'How could an NPC appear in the middle of town? That's not possible! I've never seen one like that before... Unless...'_

"Asuna! Get over here!"

«~»

The unique beast found at the Player's Hotel fled, with Kirito's Party trailing behind; the group had lost time -and distance- by snatching up usable weapons, running down the stairs, and throwing quick apologies to everyone yelling in their wake.

_'Now isn't the time, now isn't the time!'_ were the thoughts replayed in the Monster's mind as it dashed through the twilight cobbled streets of Frievan Village, Floor 8.

At this time, with all the hype of the Event Boss, one would have thought Players would be crowding the pathways of this floor; that doesn't seem to be the case here, as no one would expect the Boss to be on such a random floor. _'It's always in multiples of five, isn't it... So cliché. The other Floors are there for a reason, you know,'_ the chimera mused.

'_But that's a new thing: apparently, seeing Monsters in towns are impossible. Maybe that's why they're called "Safe-Zones"... My bad. Wait, dammit! I just gave away what the Boss is sorta gonna look like! Ugh... Admin Rose is gonna be pissed... It doesn't help that I only have a few more transformations I haven't used yet... These game restrictions suck ass.' _

The Chimera-Monster rounded a dark corner, then jumped onto the brick wall of a broken-down building. It then proceeded to climb up to the highest point and scour the village at the late hours of the night. Its blood-red orbs tracked its followers through the now-bustling crowd, eyeing every move they made; it gave a harsh shree to the moon, then vanished, leaving colorful shards of data in its place.

«~»

While charging as fast as they physically could, Kirito, Asuna, and Yui rushed after their target, but it suddenly vanished from their view. The AI activated her Navigation menu.

-[ABNORMALITIES DETECTED: NONE.]-

-[NO ABNORMALITIES ARE DETECTED IN THE SAFE-ZONE.]-

-[MAIN MENU CLOSED.]-

The Party took a moment to catch their breath and search for leads on where the Boss could have been. Kirito was the first to speak, albeit, a bit winded from the unexpected turnabout.

"Where... /hah/ did that thing... /hah/ go?!"

"I don't know! /hah, hah/ ...But look!"

«~»

By the time the Chimera transported away, all the Players in the village were in an uproar. Tens of hundreds hunted through the streets, leaving no stone unturned; Players who were planning on fighting the Boss got ready and left their homes as soon as possible, having gotten word that the one they were searching for was in the area. There was no other way an NPC Monster would be able to enter a Safe-Zone; the only explanation this phenomenon could occur is if...

"Guys /hah/, I think the Boss /hah/ got away..."

* * *

><p>(AN: I know this is probably gonna be one of the shortest chapters in the story, but I drew a thing! Plus, give me some credit here! I drew out what Jewel- er, the Chimera-Monster- looked like! I needed time for that! It'll be on Tumblr, and I'll put it out on my profile for you.

In the meantime, you tell me whatcha want, whatcha really, really want! In the reviews, of course. ;P)


	7. Chapter 6

The Beast that appeared in town managed to find its way on the path of the Event Boss' residence. Grinning wickedly to no one in particular, it tore through the large branches, leaving messy pieces of crushed flora in its wake. Small NPC Monsters scattered about, scrambling away for safety to avoid the disturbance in their artificial habitat.

_'I got away, /hah, hah/... Good job, me! Even though they already found out about the Event Boss' lair, I'll just have Admin Rose redesign it a bit!_

_'She says the other admins don't have a clue about her changing the maps: only that she added a little event! Hehe... I hope it looks nice.'_

The Monster slunk off into the thick underbrush of the far edges of the Sword Art Online map, leaving no trace of her presence in sight other than the destroyed forestry.

«~»

Kirito, Asuna, and Yui stagger back to their hotel room, exhausted in both mind and body; their chase came up with nothing, and the Party ended up cutting it short. Seating himself in a wooden chair, the raven-haired teen checked up on his Party's levels and items; he replied when Asuna relieved her frustrations.

"I'm really upset. We were so close to catching that thing..."

"Oh well. We can always try again."

**_/ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... INFORMATION REGARDING THE EVENT BOSS HAS BEEN UPDATED. PLEASE REMAIN IN THE GAME.\\_**

"Hm?"

**_/A SIGHTING OF THE EVENT BOSS HAS BEEN REPORTED ON FLOOR 8 IN FRONT OF THE FRIEVAN VILLAGE'S PLAYER HOTEL. I REPEAT, BOSS SIGHTING ON FLOOR 8 FRIEVAN VILLAGE PLAYER HOTEL. THANK YOU.\\_**

"...Well, that was slow notice. There going to be a lot of commotion in this village for a while, even though the actual attraction is long gone," Kirito claims.

"I think we should just wait for it to show up again. It's bound to," Yui assures her "parents".

She snuck over to the small fridge that held the buyable snacks and secretly took a few, taking a mental note to tell her parents before they got into trouble. They wouldn't buy "sugary" foods too often, as it doesn't help their Health Bars go up or give any other benefits; in other words, snacks are a literal waste of money, but Happiness levels would exponentially increase if that was a level that could be raised...

"You could be right, Yui. Let's just keep looking.

"Hey... Are you eating candy there?" Asuna swerved her head in the direction of crinkling digital cellophane, only to see said girl crunching away on various sweets, sugar crystals sprinkled around her face; the AI held a sheepishly guilty look on her face and offered up a piece of milk chocolate to her mother, saying,

"D-do... Do you want some? Eheheheh..."

The brown-haired female sighed in defeat, not able to stand against the guiltiest puppy-face able to be created by digital means. "I just hope you didn't take too much..."

«~»

-[TOTAL COST OF ITEMS ACQUIRED: 100Cor.]-

...

-[PURCHASE COMPLETE.]-

...

"Ooh, that's... A lot... Oopsie..."

"Yui..."

"...I'm sorry..."

Kirito sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, with his online spouse talking to the little girl about money and when to use it.

«~»

**_/ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... ATTENTION ALL PLAYERS... IT IS NOW DAY 7 OF THE EVENT. TODAY IS THE LAST DAY. I REPEAT, TODAY IS THE LAST DAY OF THE EVENT. THANK YOU.\\_**

As the family checked out of their room, they set off to finally settle the elusive Event Boss battle once and for all.

While walking out of the Player's Hotel, Kirito noticed that there were many Players now than there were last evening; apparently the announcement didn't go on deaf ears even though the little event had been over.

The first location they journeyed to was the lair of said Monster, home of the unidentifiable forest and cavern they encountered with Jewel before.

_'Where and why on Earth did that girl run off, anyway?'_ The brown-haired female wondered in her mind, knowing that the answers would only be found with the person in question.

However, something about the Forest was intriguing to all: the branches that were hacked off during the first trek through it have not grown back, as the usual forests and grasslands would normally hold that characteristic in this sort of MMORPG. In addition, the NPC Monsters that popped up are quite different from the previous walk-through: The Forest area had a few additions to its Monster Encounter list: Lightning Cobras, Small Goblins, and Green Dragons alike.

One of the only normal aspects of this unexplored area was that it felt like the Encounter Rate had gone up tenfold, as its goal is to wear down the Players before the immediate Boss Battle; this factor did its job exceptionally well, as by the time Kirito, Asuna and Yui arrived at the mouth of the cave, they looked somewhat exhausted. Their Health Bars were in the yellows, Energy Strength fell low, and while Tiredness is not a significant Battle Factor, the group looked about to drop.

Everyone realized it was because of the Energy Consumption rate: it is set much higher than normal locations, even standard Boss lairs are less energy-consuming than this place! The cave didn't improve their condition in any way, so the straggling group declared a rest time; Asuna broke out the water and sandwiches and Kirito and Yui took no time to grab one or three. A few minutes passed with peaceful conversation and the occasional startling interruption by a Monster; they soon set off once again.

The family did not notice that the entire cave had been redesigned until the AI pointed out the differences: the small plants that somehow managed to stay alive grew along the icy blue walls. Instead or Red-Eyed Mice and Poisonous Bats as NPC Monsters, there were Mutant Lizards and Daggered Crows. The winding tunnels have been replaced by a floored dungeon, complete with higher-leveled Monsters on every floor.

"The renovations here are amazing... And so quick, too," Asuna said in awe, sort of understanding the hassle of computer design and how tedious it is to replace every pixel of a large dungeon.

"Mommy, daddy! There is an abnormality in this dungeon! The Boss is here!" Yui exclaimed. Said girl, however, decided it was time for play and walked toward a small NPC beast, curious at the unique design and "personality".

Mutant Lizards apparently did not act as threatening as expected; in fact, it tried to skitter away into the rocks when Yui attempted to pick it up, but its efforts quickly proved to be futile. When the AI turned to her adoptive parents, she was seen holding the Mutant Lizard like a child would hold a stuffed animal, rendering the Monster harmless.

Asuna saw this and gave a small warning for her "daughter" to be safe; knowing the situation was risky, she whispered, "Be careful Yui."

"I will Mommy," was the quiet reply.

The "man of the house" did not pay this little event much attention as he scoured the area, looking for the next set of stairs leading to the Event Boss, whacking away any NPC Monsters as he set his focus on clearing the Event.

«~»

Asuna examined the elaborate inscriptions and swirls decorated the stainless steel in the meantime, healing and upgrading her weapons as well as Yui's.

The AI realized that she couldn't possibly do much but heal her adoptive parents as they fought to defeat the Boss inside those closed doors and insisted on staying out of the way; however, her "Mommy" refused to have her "child" not be involved in her first encounter with a Boss with the company of her parents to help her through and therefore gave her a Silver Rapier for combat.

She noticed a few Parties a few meters over and then she realized: they needed a Raid Group. _'Is that necessary for the Event Boss? We haven't ever had an Event this interesting, so maybe the rules are different?'_ Asuna questioned. The brown-haired female called out to her online spouse.

"Kirito, don't we need a Raid Group?"

"..."

"Um... Let me check the Guidebook."

-[ITEMS MENU OPENED.]-

-[GUIDEBOOK OPENED.]-

-[TURN TO PAGE: 2.]-

_"So there are a few differences about the rules for fighting the Event Boss. I will be describing them for you._

_First of all, you don't need to form Raid Groups to fight the Boss like you normally would. Instead, everyone who wants to fight the Boss will get into Parties of either three or four. As usual, however, Crystals won't work. So heal up and train up and you'll be O-K!_

_~Admin Rose"_

«~»

After ten or so floors, the Party finally reached a set of silver doors. Kirito picked up the large ring in the gargoyle's mouth and let it drop with a loud, metallic bang.

A loud creak emanated from the receding blocks of metal as they opened up to reveal a dark, eerie silence. Kirito bravely stepped foot first, with the remainder of the Party following in close pursuit, grabbing both of the raven-haired boy's midnight black sleeves.

Soft breathing from what seemed to be a humongous figure was heard in the Players' ears as they cautiously inched forward. A quick rush of wind appeared suddenly as something latched onto Asuna's right forearm, swiping at her face.

-[-10 DAMAGE.]-

"Aah! Get it off me!"

"Asuna!"

"Mommy!"

After a tiny spark of red light and the swift sound of metal slicing flesh, a flurry of diamond shards in glittering rainbow flew upwards and a digital sign flashed in front of the team:

-[ENEMY DEFEATED!]-

-[ITEMS RECIEVED: 50Cor, Health Crystal]-

"...Are you alright, Asuna?"

"Y-yes, I'm okay. I was just... Surprised..." Her voice trailed off as the darkness of the room receded a bit, allowing their eyes to barely make out a silhouetted outline of what looked like a large statue.

_/"Well, that NPC wasn't supposed to appear here... I didn't ask for any..."/_

* * *

><p>(AN: Aah, finally the story is moving again! It was still moving pretty fast -with a bit of importance in every chapter-, but I felt some parts of this one were a little slow. I just wanted to add additional scenes to make it seem as if I wasn't focused only on the future Boss battle... Did it work? No? It was stupid and boring? ...Okay...

...But it DID get your mind off the actual plot right? It did its job then. Hah. Suck it losers. XP This was a bit short, but it was SUPER plot-heavy, so... Hey! They're fighting the Event Boss, finally! Yas!)


	8. Chapter 7

(A/N: Sorry, this one's a little short... ^^;)

* * *

><p><em>"Well, well... Looks like I'm gonna have fun today!"/_

Everyone inside the large Boss room were unnerved, to say the least.

Even though all of the Players -and AI- acknowledged the Boss' "artificial intelligence" and ability to speak, it was still a bit frightening to all who heard those words that were soaked in an almost palpable mixture of insanity and innocent curiosity.

Nothing moved in their eyes; the room was cloaked in darkness now that the steel doors shut and extinguished their easy escape. A few of the Players that hesitantly wandered in last squeaked in shock as the slamming of the doors rang in everyone's ears; as impossible as it would seem, the room implied it was larger than they expected, judging from how long and loudly the echo from the doors emanated.

Afterwords, however, no one spoke a word.

All was quiet except for a trio of Players that decided to whisper amongst themselves.

Kirito decided to act boldy and experimented on how an attitude like that would affect his chances of victory. '_Like that would be possible,'_ he mused silently, not voicing his thoughts. Unfortunately, the stutter in his carefully chosen words proved how he actually felt: fear.

"W-who said that?! Show yourself!"

'_Damn! Why did I stutter?! There isn't anything to be afraid of yet! ...Yet...'_

_/"Why should I when I am already here? Silly Player..."/_

Everyone looked about, all demanding to find the source of the endearing yet terrifying tone of voice that seemed to be coming from... Everywhere...

"This cave echoes, so it's hard to find the source of the voice," Asuna whispered to Yui so as not to cause a whisper herself and throw off everyone else's concentration. Of course, it didn't go past the ears of the Event Boss, who looked from the shadows in an amused way -which wasn't seen by her slayers, as the cave was a dark as the midnight sky-.

_/"Smart girl you are! This cave won't get much lighter, so try and find me if you can~!"/_

What would have been a smooth, lovely chuckle from a female pierced the Players' ears like a cackling witch, the echoing amplifying the audible torture they had to go through; all the while, the Parties that entered split up into groups, apologizing to anyone they blindly bumped into.

Kirito, Asuna and Yui managed to find a wall while wandering as far left as possible and stopped there to gather their bearings and attempt to navigate or pinpoint the general location of the Boss, who is most likely hiding far into the shadows and eyeing their every move with ease...

"Asuna, is it possible to locate the source of a noise with an echo?"

"...Yes, I think so. I have an idea- of course, it involves us wandering around until we can't hear any more echoing..."

Meanwhile, Yui was listening intently to the Boss as it continued talking about how by speaking she was actually helping them out, pointing out that everyone had to hold a quote-on-quote "burden" everyone with her voice,

_/"...Which is bull, after all! Why bite the hand that fed ya? ...Oh, right! Damn, I forgot how you are going to be able to get out of this dark hell! Whoops!"/_

A few slaps were heard as hands quickly reached for their face as a reaction to the voice's supposed intelligence.

'_...At least it lightened the mood a bit..._' Kirito considered.

Somehow, the room stopped echoing, and now everyone is able to hear the directions for clearing the Boss Event. The voice that was previously speaking with bright and taunting enthusiasm gave out a bored sigh as her lazy words practically slithered from her throat:

_/"Anyway, so here's how it's gonna work: there are pieces of paper in little hiding places, yeah? Those things're puzzle pieces your supposed to fit together. Once you do that, there'll be just light enough so you'll be able to see. That's when I'll bother to fight with ya._

_/"In the meantime, I'm just gonna watch as you little things stumble around like blind lab mice in a maze. Have fun~!"/_

After that, no more words were heard except the ones that originated from the Players themselves.

"That metaphor sure seems accurate right about now..." Asuna sighed in annoyance. "Really? A puzzle? ...I don't know whether it's good or bad that there are lots of people in here..."

"What can you do? ...Let's just try and find the pieces for now," Kirito said with equal irritation as he grazed his hand over the cold stone walls in an attempt to search for the papers.

"I kind of want to get this over with now..."

Jewel looked on at the wandering Players down below where she perched in her seat, eyes glowing a dull, blood red. As she yawned it was clear she was quickly growing tired of this stupid little game Admin Rose added last-minute.

_'She's the techie, and I'm not. I have to just go with it, I guess..._

_'Still, I don't get why I can't just swoop in and get rid of everyone I don't want to fight! She must've known by now! ...I just don't get her.'_

Jewel stifled a large yawn when she heard the happy shouts of a Player finding one of the pieces of paper, looking down at the general location of the source.

_'Good! This hell is slowly ending! Maybe I can get some well-deserved sleep.' She transformed into the form more comfortable to her: a two-headed dragon, _with one head sleeping and the other on guard, having the heads switch roles every once in a while.

It took a good two, three hours to find all of the pieces -a loud, obnoxious buzzer sounded when the last puzzle piece was discovered, thoroughly waking up Jewel into a startled, angered mess-, and another five minutes to solve the puzzle.

When the last piece was in place, the chandelier made of gold that was hanging dangerously above the Players flicked on and off a bit; after a few seconds, it finally found enough strength to turn itself on.

The Players looked about after having their eyes adjust to this newfound light, anxious for the inevitable battle: they passed the test, and now-

_/"Hey... You actually managed to solve that! Good job, kiddies! Now y'all get to see the awesome and badass me! It's a shame only a handful of you will actually FIGHT me..."/_

Murmurs and hissing whispers arose from the crowd: "What's THAT supposed to mean?" "Only some of us will fight it?" "I hope I get a chance..."

"Daddy, do you think we'll fight the Boss?" Yui looked up at her adoptive father with a questioning stare, with curiosity and anxiety the only emotions found on her features. Kirito found himself looking at two glittering orbs of ashen gray; feeling a bit submissive at her gaze, he had to say SOMETHING...

"We will, Yui. I'm sure of it."

* * *

><p>(AN: So... No fight scene yet! Haha... I'm just postponing it as much as possible at this point... I want the feels to be with the feels and the adrenaline with the adrenaline, so I made the fight scene start in the next chapter. «- My excuse/reason.

But you gotta wait for that since I haven't started it yet... ^_^; Anyways, drop me a review if you want and have a nice day!)


	9. Chapter 8

(A/N: I'll just say this fight scene will probably suck despite all the time I've been putting it off. I have a hard time with action scenes, but descriptive and plot executions are my favorite thing to write, as you can probably tell up to this point~ Ahh, dialogue... But anyway, there will be swearing pretty early on because of reasons that are quite obvious... Anyway! Enjoy this terrible stuff called fight scenes...)

* * *

><p>"Well, let's see who fights and who is stuck on the sidelines..."/

The Boss's crimson eyes glowed brightly from a place that was shrouded in darkness, where the chandelier lights didn't reach. All Players attempted to keep a courageous face- of course, the key word is attempted: the weak-spirited broke under the pressure and nervously proceeded to banish themselves to the walls to watch the fight from a ditance.

The ones who kept a straight face remained so until the Boss revealed itself...

/"...Or should I say, HERself?"/

«~»

/"A click of my fingertips is enough to send a score of men flying! Want me to demonstrate?"/

As she claimed, it so happened. Everyone but Kirito, Asuna and Yui that masked their fears disappeared in a flash into the darkness that surrounded them so quickly it would have appeared as if they were never there at all. Yui was the first to react, shivering a bit at her words.

"W-what?! They all vanished!"

/"Ding-ding-ding! Congratulations! You figured out that I forcibly made all the other Players return to the Town of Beginnings~! You've heard the rumors, yeah? It's not that hard, yanno?"/

Out from the shadows stepped out the possessor of those blood-red orbs: a peculiarly feminine figure -one that is abnormal in terms of normal Boss appearances- that looked nearly identical to Kirito, Asuna and Yui's lost Party member. The only differences were the clothing style -which consisted of a quite revealing low-cut midnight top and torn skinny jeans, with a blood-red, ripped cape over it all- and her now showing dragon's wings.

At the moment, she was on the ground and seeing them for the first time without her high perch.

"You look like our Party member that had the great idea to split from us without warning!" Asuna managed to shout. "Do you know anything about this?!"

The accused "former Party member" merely replied with a shrug of indifference and scratched behind her left ear.

/"I dunno and honestly I don't care right now."/

Kirito decided to prod on further, mixed emotions of irritation and curiosity swirling in his words.

"What was that whole ordeal for then?"

Jewel stuck up her pointer finger and waved it, giving a teasing wink towards Kirito.

/"Hey, look on the bright side! Now, we can get the duel over with like I told you guys before!"/

"I'll gladly oblige," Asuna adds, holding up her most upgraded rapier in her weaponry. "It isn't very polite to take up people's time without a reason, and I'm here to show you WHY!"

As soon as those words escaped the light-brunette's lips, said Player leaped into action. With a swift movement, she launched herself into the air to get a decent blow to Jewel's torso, backed by the element of surprise; however, it only did a surprising 10 damage, much to her dismay.

The Event Boss stumbled backwards from where she stood, a hint of shock dissipating from her features as quickly as it had appeared. The blow was a thin gash stretching from her collarbone to the end of her ribcage, which was beginning to fade to a darker red as if to visibly show the damage; small, glowing polygon shards declared a direct hit on the Boss.

While the anti-hero was busy being occupied by assessing the damage, Kirito looped around and slashed from behind. However, this attack wasn't executed well and...

-[-5 DAMAGE.]-

"Damn! What kind of joke is this?! These attacks should clearly be doing more!" The raven-haired teen complains, frustration increasing with every word. "Does this thing have a greater defense than everything we've seen before?!"

/"Not that I'll admit that to you, ass! You should already know what I'm doing by now: increasing all of my stats to what I think is okay without cheating -because levels can only go up so high-, and a bit of tweaking here and there-"/

"-Which is cheating any way you put it!" interrupts Yui, who had stayed behind a bit to see what strategy she could create with the time her parents stalled the Boss- who wandered a ways from the group while the challengers gathered themselves into defensive stances.

Jewel ignored the faint, childish voice and amassed what appeared to be red energy in the palms of her hands, with the creator of this bundle of light putting her hands into a prayer-like position and pulled her hands apart. The glowing energy stretched as the hands were separated, forming what was shaped as a double-edged longsword. Throughout this time, her eyes were focused on the opposing trio, eyeing their every move.

With an unexpected upwards stroke of her hands, some bits of glittering red showered down, leaving a large, thin blade spiraling downwards toward the head of its creator. However, the Boss stepped back once and took a swipe of her right hand; said hand caught ahold of the sword's handle before it to the ground.

"One hand movement causes a sword of that caliber to appear out of nowhere? I know this is a game, but it's realistic enough so that sort of thing never happens!" Objected Yui, nervously holding her rapier blade in front of herself for defense.

/"I won't give you all the details, but win and I'll tell you everything~"/

Her challenge was met with a readying stance made by Kirito: knees bent, two swords out front -_'Why didn't he pull the second one out sooner?'_ Jewel mused silently-, head lowered a bit as an attempt to deprive himself of air resistance for his next move-

"Lightning Fall!"

At once, he tossed himself up into the air; knowing exactly how the attack would work, the other Party members jumped out of the attack's stunning range. However, it could be assumed that Jewel was ignorant in this and only made preparations for a strong hit.

As soon as both blades dug into the ground, a violet-blue light glowed brightly and bursted away from its origin, covering everything it came in contact with for a moment's time.

Using the long cool-down time to grade his performance, he glanced about, a million thoughts having a marathon in his head: _'Did Asuna and Yui make it unscathed? Did I paralyze the Boss? Nothing went wrong, did it?'_

Sure enough, he caught sight of his spouse, who decided to take advantage of a temporary stunned Jewel. Said Boss was sparking in her every movement with a light-blue hue, indicating paralysis of the character.

Stifling a grin at his first success since the battle began, he waited a bit to see how the other two members of his Party were going, since it was obvious this attack would do a decent enough amount of damage for the time being.

_'Knowing what she can do, though, she won't be paralyzed for very long. What'll Asuna do, I wonder?'_

Meanwhile, Yui was spectating the battle from afar.

_'There is no good way for me to fight in this battle... Because of the lack of time we had to prepare, I only learned how to use a Linear attack on the Silver Rapier..._

_'I would try that attack I used on The Fatal Scythe a while back, but I'm not sure if Mommy and Daddy want me to do that because that was what conformed my deletion last time...'_

As she watched her foster parents continue to fight with seemingly no damage taken at all, she became a bit suspicious at the Boss' method of combat. She went to call her "father's" attention when he stood close enough for him to hear.

"Daddy!"

Turning in the direction of his "daughter's" words, he could only see suspicion... And tad of fear...

"Wh... What is it, Yui? Is something wrong?"

"Yes, I really think something is wrong here! Look at your HP gauge!"

He checked.

-[98% HEALTH.]-

"If you are concerned about my health gauge, you shouldn't worry so much about it. We aren't getting attacked so far, and me and Mommy are planning to keep it that way."

"No, it's not like that! You would think that Boss Jewel would have attacked us by now, right? I mean, all the other Bosses have executed at least five moves by now!"

At this, Kirito began to show more concern at the statistics, growing more suspicious of Jewel by the moment. After what seemed to be a long pause, the Event Boss-in-question decided to break the silence -or what would have been silent, had Asuna not been dishing out large, drawn-out attacks like a maniac in the background-.

«~»

Even over all the clashing of metal blade on metal blade, Jewel was still able to make out the conversation that was happening between Kirito and his so-called "daughter" and had took it upon herself to interrupt: all the while blocking every move Asuna made with her upgraded Rapier.

/"So! You've found out what I've been trying to do, huh... Well, it isn't exactly the best strategy, but I've already used the other types: let's see... all-offensive, last-resort... Those are the only ones I can think up right now..."/

"So that's your plan, huh. There really must have been a catch, though! Did the Guidebook lie?!" Asuna questioned with a bit of shock in her voice.

/"Well, not exactly. See, my strategies are different every time I fight someone, y'know, to keep things fresh!"/

* * *

><p>(AN: ...Hi... Was this good? Was it bad? I tried fight scenes. Never let me write fight scenes. Although... They are easier to write than draw... TTwTT Oh, whatever... Just review it I guess... And I ended this chapter on such an awkward note it hurts... Ouch, dialogue cliffhangers...

Anyway! Thank you all for sticking with the story so far! It's almost finished, yay! And I'll probably have a sequel out as soon as this story is finished, so if you liked this then come back for the next installment! :D)


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